POLICE fear the remains of a Roman bath house in an historic Ribble Valley village is being used as a drugs and booze den by local youngsters.

Officers in Ribchester seized cannabis and alcohol at the bath house site, a popular tourist attraction in the centre of the village.

They say it has become common knowledge among people in the village that young people are using it for illegal purposes, such as smoking cannabis and under-aged drinking.

When police approached the bath house, the youngsters fled.

Police now intend to try and find the youngsters involved to remind them that it is still a criminal offence to be in possession of cannabis. They also want to find out how they came to be in possession of it.

A police spokesman said: "There appears to be a drinking and using drugs problem in Ribchester at the moment. We are trying to trace the offenders." He added efforts were also being made to try and find the source of the cannabis supply. A similar situation in the village last year led to arrests being made by officers.

The bath house ruins are looked after by Lancashire County Council, which offers free entry to the site.

Details of the site's drug problems come at the same time the Visit England tourist organisation highlighted the delights of Roman Ribchester.

It has included details of both the bath house and the village's Roman museum in a leaflet which tells visitors where to go to see film locations.